ChemSkills 2026: What does the future hold for education in the chemical industry?

On Thursday 17 September 2026, NEWTON University hosted a conference for the European ChemSkills project at its premises in the Prague Congress Centre. I had the privilege of opening the event, and I would like to share my main takeaways from the discussion about the future of education in one of the most important sectors of the European economy.

What is ChemSkills, and what is NEWTON’s role?

ChemSkills is a four-year European initiative co-funded by the European Union, with a budget of €3.9 million. It brings together 33 partners from 14 countries, ranging from leading academic institutions to major industry associations, including the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), Germany’s BAVC, Italy’s Federchimica and the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

The project was launched in direct response to the green and digital transitions and the EU’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. Its main aim is to identify skills gaps and develop up-to-date training modules for key subsectors, from petrochemicals and plastics to elastomers, agricultural chemicals and consumer chemicals.

NEWTON University’s role is to help ensure that the training modules, roadmaps and skillcards developed through the project are put to use in teaching and industry. As a work package leader, NEWTON also leads the project’s dissemination and communication activities.

The conference programme

The opening session featured Jan Orava representing NEWTON, representatives of the European Commission and the project’s lead manager, Anni Siltanen. Robert Michael Westbrook moderated the event throughout the day.

Listening to what the team has already achieved, and what it plans to do next, left me with a real appreciation of the work behind this project.

During the morning, speakers including Simona Jursová from VSB – Technical University of Ostrava and Fabian Grunert from the University of Twente in the Netherlands presented the work and practical outputs of individual local teams. They also introduced the Learning Skills Hub platform.

Who will keep the outputs up to date once the project ends?

One fundamental question emerged during the discussion: who will maintain and update these resources after the project officially ends in 2027?

Data and technologies quickly become outdated. If Europe is to remain competitive, we need to ensure that the programmes developed through the project remain relevant over the long term, from bachelor’s and master’s degrees through to doctoral study.

I see two main challenges here:

1. The role of government and the market: We need ongoing, coordinated support to adapt the project’s outputs to the needs of businesses and markets in each country, including after the project has ended.
2. The role of universities: Long-term continuity depends on actively integrating these modules into mainstream teaching. Putting them to meaningful use will also give universities a reason to keep them up to date.

A particularly refreshing discussion came during the session led by Barbara Honti (BME) and Zoltán Finta (Euroapi), which explored the concept of the Digital Chemical Engineer. Barbara neatly captured the difference between business and academia: businesses need to move quickly and decisively, while universities tend to take a more measured approach.

This tension is evident, for example, in the requirements for academic progression. If a university expects an industry professional to publish three papers as first author in journals with an impact factor, even a leading expert may find that requirement virtually impossible to meet.

If we want students to learn from the best people in industry, we need to adapt these rules so that experienced professionals can enter teaching and progress within academia. Doctoral research demands a substantial investment of time, and funding that adequately compensates industry professionals for that time is difficult to secure.

What skills will tomorrow’s chemistry professionals need?

• Programming and coding: Over the next ten years, these will become essential skills. Those who cannot code or work with data will struggle to keep pace with modern chemistry.
• Communication beyond the laboratory: Technical expertise alone is not enough. We need engineers who can negotiate, present their work and bring different stakeholders together. Communicating scientific findings to the wider public will also be an important part of their role.

The panel discussion that followed brought together experts from industry and academia, including Dušan Sameliak from TORVAKO, Marek Botek from the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Barbara Honti and Zoltán Finta. They addressed a key question: how can the chemical industry retain young talent?

The panellists agreed that the generation now entering university has very different expectations from those who came before them. Universities cannot simply repeat established approaches. We need to listen actively, help students develop their mindset and prepare them for roles that may not yet exist.

The ChemSkills conference also explored the future direction of the chemical industry and related international initiatives focused on sustainability and innovation. Antonius Johannes Schröder and Emma Strömberg presented these perspectives.

For educational institutions, the message is clear. Universities must work closely with industry, and actively developing up-to-date education and training modules is the only way to produce graduates whom employers will compete to recruit.